


don't know why but you're dying to try

by mothmanfucker666



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Watcher Entertainment RPF
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Alternate Universe - Fae, Fae Shane, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Selkie Shane, Selkies, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24936034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothmanfucker666/pseuds/mothmanfucker666
Summary: "oh, hey, you dropped this," ryan notices suddenly, bending to pick up the sleek fur coat. he brushes it off and holds it out to shane, who just stares at him with wide eyes.
Relationships: Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej
Comments: 9
Kudos: 343





	don't know why but you're dying to try

**Author's Note:**

> based mostly on [this](https://howtobangyourmonster.tumblr.com/post/170171282758/) old tumblr post!!
> 
> title from kiss the girl from the little mermaid

For the first few months they work on Unsolved together, Ryan doesn't notice the coat.

Ryan doesn't know why it takes him so long to notice. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he's noticing more about Shane in general, these days. He tries not to examine it too closely.

Regardless, it's a weird coat. It's sleek and smooth, all silvery fur with black spots, and Shane never wears it. It's always hung over his arm, or in the back seat of his car, or on the back of his computer chair ─ but never on his body. Ryan would remember, he thinks, seeing Shane wear such an odd coat. So he asks about it, one day.

"Why do you never wear that thing?" Ryan asks, right before they leave for lunch. Shane raises an eyebrow, confused, and Ryan gestures toward the silvery coat in Shane's arms. Shane tenses minutely, something Ryan would not have noticed had it been two months ago.

"It's, uh..." Shane stammers, at a loss for words. It's a rare enough sight that Ryan immediately backpedals.

"I mean ─ it must be a comfort thing, right?" Ryan guesses. He's thought about it extensively, and he can't see what else it could be. The tension in Shane's shoulders relaxes, and he nods. "We don't have to talk about it. It's cool. Sorry for prying."

Shane smiles and changes the subject, and after that, Ryan doesn't think a whole lot more about the coat. It's still there, ever-present, but he figures Shane will tell him about it if and when he's ready to.

─

Months pass, and then years, and Shane still doesn't talk to Ryan about the coat. Ryan doesn't think about it much, but sometimes he catches a glimpse of the glossy fur and has to resist the urge to reach out and stroke it. But some weird part of his brain tells Ryan he shouldn't, or maybe even _can't_. That it would be some kind of violation. Which is silly, probably, and Ryan couldn't explain it if someone asked him, but he never claimed to have a normal brain.

Mostly, though, Ryan forgets about the coat, because he's very busy being distracted by Shane himself. Shane and his mile-long legs, his big hands, the twinkle in his eyes when he laughs at Ryan's jokes. Shane and the beard Ryan wants to feel rubbing against the most intimate parts of him, something he only allows himself to think about late at night when he's alone in his bedroom with nothing but his hand and his thoughts for company ─ Shane is plenty distracting, and as time goes on, Ryan resolves himself to this one-sided pining for the rest of his life. Pining is better than the alternative. Better than losing Shane.

─

It's the weekend before Halloween, and Ryan is out bar hopping with Shane and several of their other friends. They're taking part in a zombie-themed pub crawl, everyone dressed up with various levels of dedication to their costumes and makeup. Ryan is trashed; so is Shane, he can tell, who is sporting a magnificent gash of fake blood across his left cheek and keeps stumbling slightly into Ryan as the two of them make their way down the street to the next bar on the list.

"Careful, dude," Ryan laughs when Shane trips over the curb and is sent sprawling onto the sidewalk. Their friends don't seem to notice, but Ryan holds out a hand and helps hoist Shane back to his feet. Shane accepts the assistance gratefully, giving Ryan a sort of shy grin once he's back on his feet. Their eyes meet for what feels like several seconds too long, and Ryan feels almost bewitched by the amber glint there. Shane's eyes seem almost to glow, tonight, but perhaps Ryan is just trashed.

"Oh, hey, you dropped this," Ryan notices suddenly, bending to pick up the sleek fur coat. He brushes it off and holds it out to Shane, who just stares at him with wide eyes.

"You're... Giving it to me?" Shane asks slowly, not raising a hand yet to take the proffered coat.

Ryan squints. "... Yes? It's yours, isn't it?"

"It is." Shane swallows audibly, then gingerly reaches out a trembling hand to take the coat. A slow smile tugs at his lips, and he steps slightly closer to Ryan. Ryan is still confused, but he doesn't try to pull back, just gives Shane a confused grin.

"What's up, dude?" Ryan asks, wary but amused.

"I knew it was you," Shane breathes, and now his eyes _definitely_ look like they're glowing. There's no way Ryan can be imagining that. Is he wearing color contacts, or...?

"Huh? Shane, what─" Ryan's cut off when Shane very abruptly leans down and seals their lips together. The angle is clumsy and their noses bump, but there's something... There's just something about it, something that feels special, _magical,_ even though Ryan knows that's ridiculous. Shane's long fingers curl into the front of Ryan's fake gore-covered T-shirt, and he tilts his head a little, which improves the quality of the kiss instantly. Ryan lets himself just sort of melt into it, still confused but game for whatever the hell is happening, until Shane finally breaks the kiss and steps back a little bit.

His eyes are their normal whiskey brown when Ryan remembers to check again.

"What...?"

"There you guys are!" Kelsey interrupts from somewhere behind Shane. The two of them turn around to face her, and she doesn't give them a chance to complain before she's dragging them back toward the rest of their group.

─

Ryan doesn't know what he's expecting to happen, after that, but it's not Shane arriving on his front doorstep the next morning at an obscenely early hour, brandishing a tupperware container of what looks like sugar cookies with violets pressed into them. Shane presses the container into Ryan's hands and gently pushes past him into the apartment, practically vibrating with manic energy. "We need to talk," Shane says simply after a moment.

Ryan rubs at his eyes, frowning vaguely as his sleepy brain struggles to catch up. "Okay...?" he mumbles, voice low and a little rough with sleep. He sets the tupperware container on the coffee table and sits down on the couch, looking at Shane expectantly. "What are we talking about?"

Shane fidgets for a moment, then seems to make up his mind and forces himself to sit down. "Last night..."

"Oh." Ryan scratches at the back of his neck. He gives Shane a sort of shy, cautiously hopeful smile. "That was a hell of a kiss, huh? I mean... We were both pretty drunk..." He pauses. "I don't regret it, though."

Shane smiles a little, too, but he still looks incredibly nervous. "I have to tell you something. I ─ I wanted to kiss you, don't get me wrong, but it comes with ─ it comes with other things, and I have to tell you. It's not fair not to tell you. I shouldn't have done it, not like that."

Ryan's brow furrows as he tries to untangle the knot of words. He reaches out and squeezes Shane's hand. "Hey, man, relax. You wanna explain what you're goin' on about, big guy?"

Shane takes a deep breath and nods slowly. Then he reaches into his pocket for his phone. "I thought about showing you in person, but, like... I didn't wanna freak you out. So. Uh." Shane hands Ryan his phone, where he's pulled up what looks like an old family video at the beach.

Ryan hits play, and immediately recognizes Shane, Scott, and Shane's mom. Shane's dad's voice comes from behind the camera. _"It's Shane's first real swim! You ready, buddy?"_ The tiny Shane in the background lets out an enthusiastic _yeah!_ and it makes Ryan smile. _"Alright, buddy, let's see it!"_

And then baby Shane picks up something silvery from the ground. It takes Ryan a moment to realize that it's the same coat Shane carries everywhere, except it's much smaller ─ clearly made to fit the tiny Shane on the phone screen.

Confused, Ryan watches as the tiny Shane on the screen pulls on the jacket. And then he's ─ he's ─

Ryan drops the phone.

"Please don't freak out," Shane says quickly. "I'm ─ I'm only half-selkie, so I don't shift all the way like my mom, but, um..."

Part of Ryan wants to accuse Shane of playing a prank, but there's simply no way what he just watched wasn't real. One moment Shane is a six-year-old human, and in the next, he looks like a sort of... Seal merboy, with glowing amber eyes, sharp teeth, and fins. And no legs.

The pattern of Shane's lower half in the video now clearly matches the coat currently tossed over the arm of Ryan's couch.

"Half-selkie," Ryan says finally, faintly. He hands Shane back his phone. "... Okay. Right. I ─ what does that have to do with kissing me, though?"

Shane watches him carefully, setting his phone aside on the coffee table. He plucks at a stray thread on the sleeve of his shirt, stalling. "... Humans aren't supposed to be able to see my coat," Shane says finally. "There's a powerful glamour that hides it from being noticed. Except. Um."

"... Except?" Ryan presses gently when it doesn't look like Shane's going to finish.

"Except by the person I'm destined to spend my life with," Shane completes after a few more seconds of silence, looking anywhere but at Ryan. "It's an ancient tradition. Bound in ancient magic. Um... Historically, it was pretty common for a human who found a selkie's coat to steal it, to hide it. To essentially entrap them as their spouse. It's why we're always supposed to keep it close at hand."

Ryan scrubs a hand over his face. "So we're... What? Soulmates? Is that what you're saying?" he demands. He feels ridiculous saying it, and his face is hot, but there's something in the word that also feels undeniably _right_. Ryan wonders vaguely why he's not freaking out more.

"Ah. In a sense," Shane agrees, scratching at the back of his neck. "I fucked up, Ry. The bond, it ─ it would have been something we could break, but I ─ you gave my coat back. You didn't know it, but you were giving me a _choice_ , and I... I sealed the bond without thinking."

"The kiss?" Ryan guesses, eyebrows raising.

"The kiss," Shane repeats solemnly. He looks down at his hands. "I don't know how to put this. We're... Bound together by ancient magic now. Fae law. It's... It's kind of a forever deal, Ry."

"Forever?" Ryan repeats, a little weakly. It's... Okay, so he's been a little bit ─ _or a lot_ ─ in love with Shane for a while now, but this is. It's. A lot.

"I'm sorry," Shane says, and Ryan can tell he means it. "I wasn't thinking. We're, uh. We're basically married now. More than married, but." He shrugs one shoulder. And then he slides off the couch onto his knees.

"Um," Ryan says, blinking at Shane. "Whatcha doin' down there, big guy?"

Shane reaches into his jacket pocket and retrieves a little velvet box, and Ryan's heart flies into his throat. Shane smiles a little sheepishly, cheeks pink. "I'm sorry I didn't give you a choice in sealing the bond, Ryan. But I'm giving you a choice in this."

"Shane..."

"Just. Let me finish. We already know we're made for each other, right? You've met my family. They love you. I can take you to my home ─ the Mound where my mom was born ─ and we can have a real ceremony. And we can hold off on having one in this realm, if you want, and I know I'm going about this all backwards, but I ─ I love you. And I want to do this right." Shane locks eyes with Ryan, and his own are glowing once again. He's beautiful, Ryan thinks, not for the first time. "Ryan, will you be my husband, bound by both fae and mortal law?"

"You're so weird," Ryan says after a second, a grin tugging at his lips. This is happening way too fast, and it should be too much, but ─ something changed last night when he gave Shane his coat. When they sealed their marriage with a kiss. "Soulmates, huh?"

"Soulmates," Shane repeats, opening the little ring box without looking away from Ryan's eyes.

"Husbands," Ryan adds thoughtfully. Then he shrugs a little. "Why not, big guy? If you're gonna be my husband for, like, ever, I wanna be able to show you off."

Shane _beams,_ and Ryan knows he made the right choice. He politely doesn't mention the way Shane has too many teeth, all of them needle-sharp. Instead, he holds out his right hand for Shane to slip the plain gold band onto his ring finger. It fits perfectly, of course.

"Can I sell you on Ryan Madej?" Shane asks, and Ryan laughs a little, leaning in to kiss the other firmly. He should be afraid, maybe, especially with all those sharp teeth so close to his tongue, but. But this is Shane. This is just another part of the man Ryan has been quietly in love with for years; it's mind-blowing, sure, but Ryan is mostly just overwhelmed with a sense of _rightness_. The kiss is brief and gentle, and then Ryan pulls back slightly, running his fingers through Shane's hair. He wonders how he never noticed the way Shane's ears come to a very visible point at the tips, then decides it must be something to do with glamour, just like Shane's coat.

"I'll have to get you a ring, too," Ryan muses.

"No iron, please," Shane says with a little laugh.

"I'll keep that in mind, big guy," Ryan says. He leans in to kiss Shane again, this time a little deeper. Ryan lets the tip of his tongue trace gently over one of Shane's sharp teeth, and Shane's breath hitches. Ryan finally extracts himself from the kiss a handful of minutes later, lips red and hair mussed. Shane's similarly disheveled.

"So," Ryan begins, getting to his feet. He helps Shane to his feet as well, pressing close and grabbing his husband by the front of his shirt.

Huh. Husband.

"How about we go consummate our marriage, then? Gotta make it official, and all."

Shane gives Ryan that sharp-toothed grin again, and Ryan shivers.

"With pleasure."


End file.
